... and even in the 2011 storms, we didn't get the kind of white-out we're gonna see this evening.

The last time I remember this stuff was the winter of '93-94(?), and then it didn't melt between successive 15-inch snows. A rookie car ticketed all the cars on my street during a white-out (and wrote the wrong street-name to boot) for not having cleaned off our cars. We all appealed and won.

I suspect cabbies will be allowed (since they may well be transporting the above essential personnel), but not encouraged.

Also give the police some teeth if they catch some asshat out doing nothing but being a big idiot with an ego. Theyâ€™re not going bother you if you have a legitimate issue like getting back from work, or need to get somewhere because of a personal emergency.

But you know some idiots will be out for a Sunday stroll, doing donuts in parking lots, or completely oblivious to the past 48 hours of warnings and screaming that they thought this was â€˜Merica! The SOE and driving ban gives first responders teeth to deal with these jackasses (not that they probably need it, as those jackasses usually have warrents)

Sorry, but at 4:00 there was only 2-3" of snow on the ground, and he wants us off the roads? I was driving home from work and there was snow on the roads, no different from any other time we get snow. Is it going to get worse? Yes, of course. But please, don't tell us we can't drive. If he wants to advise, urge, suggest, etc. that people not drive, fine. An outright ban is heavy-handed.

There's no reason for people to be out. Most businesses are closed. The roads need to be free of other drivers so emergency responders can get to where they need to be instead of having to contend with morons who can't handle snow driving.

I suppose you've been in Cuba during a hurricane? They have to tell dumb people to stay off the roads so they won't die...or kill people. Besides the dumbest people driving around in snow like this have 4 wheel drives.

Unless you drive on 48 inch tires or also attached a plow blade, I don't care how many wheels your engine can turn all at once. Your nose is going to be pushing 2 feet of snow in front of you when it gets 24 inches deep out there and you won't be going anywhere in your Super Useless Vehicle.

Yes, 4WD is great for getting you going good and fast when the laws of Physics weigh in on braking and cornering ability. It will get you going fast enough to not just go flying off of the roadway, but to also clear the plow area. Then you won't be in the way as the snow submurges your broken vehicle and preserves your body.

Come on man! This is for everyone's safety. It's not a power play. It's not a way for the governor to show how powerful he is. It's so people know that this storm is serious business and driving your car in it for anything other than an emergency would be an incredibly stupid decision (even if you do have a giant car). Not that what I say will change your mind, but I figured I'd say something because your comments are not very fair or even realistic.

Only in nanny state Massachusetts where we rely on Deval to tell us everything from how to wipe our butts to when to drive home in snow. So typical and the hype has made completely go off the deep end. 2 1/2 hour traffic jam to go 4 miles last night and lines that wrapped around the Whole Foods this morning. And it doesn't help that the media-jerks insist on coming up with names like "snowpocalypse." Everyone should just chill the hell out.

This draconian all or nothing blackout is way too much. Local stores in many neighborhoods provide a much need service. Yet there are ruining foul of the law. There customers are pedestrians, not motorists. We know it's gonna be bad, but anybody who stays open to sell stuff should be congratulated.

For those of you who assume that your SUV with it's 4-wheel drive and your driving expertise should exempt you from the driving ban, be sure to look at the image of Route 128 (or I95 as it's fashionably called).

assuming everyone's comparisons to the blizzard of '78 are correct, Deval is trying to prevent situations like this:

Your driving prowess will not empower you to magically see through whiteouts. The winds of these storms will blind you like nothing you can imagine.

If you somehow have superhuman powers, your vehicle doesn't. My young recollection of the 78 blizzard was brushing snow off the top of car engines the next day and using a blow dryer to dry the spark plug wires and distributor cap.

Stay home, take a chill pill and let the snow plow drivers and emergency workers do their job without showboating.

That happened because everybody working on 128 was told to go home about at the same time. normally, 128 workers had staggered arrival & quitting times to spread out the rush. And, the first inch or so of snow was very greasy.

It took me over an hour to get from Lincoln Lab to my place in Bedford, normally a 10 min jaunt.

The severity of the '78 storm was also compounded because there was a record-setting snowstorm about a week before. In short, there was no place to shovel or plow the stuff to. I remember some teachersstreets being plowed sideways with Army bucket loaders.

Channel 4 showed a video from one of their on-the-road units driving on 128 (I think). It showed a SUV ahead of them in the far left lane passing one of the large plows that was clearing the highway. The SUV then cut in front of the plow but then lost control, sliding across all the lanes of the highway, barely missed getting hit by another plow or truck that was in the right lane, finally ending up off the side of the highway. Sweet.

Hope this video gets posted on YouTube (or UHub) to show not what to do in situations like this.